Samsung Offers $300 Rebate For Old Smartphones

Samsung is taking an unorthodox approach to the smartphone battle it is waging against Apple by offering a rebate for up to $300 for old smartphones. This offer comes just before the rumored iPhone 5 release date this September, and Samsung's unspecified Aug. 15 event.

On Monday, Samsung posted on their Facebook page that users who upgrade to a Samsung smartphone will get a quote for their old smartphone. Once they buy a new Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note or any other Samsung smartphones, users will mail in their old smartphone in and wait for the rebate in the mail.

It's not just Samsung phones that customers can send in. A perfect condition iPhone 4S 64GB will get users the full $300 rebate, according to the Samsung upgrade page. After a large price drop, an iPhone 4S 32GB is going for $230 and the 16GB for $215.

With the iPhone 5 release date rumored to be sometime in late September, Samsung is offering an excellent incentive to make the jump from iOS to Android. A user who has a contract upgrade for their phone and an iPhone 4S 64GB could purchase a new Samgsung Galaxy S3 for $200 or a Samsung Galaxy Note for $250 with money left over.

Gearbum noted that with the new program in place, Samsung will be "practically giving away its smartphones." This could be the strategy that Samsung needs to put its Galaxy smartphones ahead of Apple's iPhones as anticipations builds for the newest member of the iOS family.

Samsung will be taking more than just iPhones back. When setting up for your rebate, you can choose from an expansive list of smartphones that you can exchange if you want to switch over to the Samsung Galaxy phones.

As tensions rise between the two companies, Mashable reports that they are both planning big events in the coming weeks. Samsung has a "mysterious" event that is believe to be about the Galaxy Note on Aug 15, and Apple has an event of their own on Sept 12 that is rumored to be the day they will reveal the iPhone 5.

This tech battle isn't limited to smartphones. Last month, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 was banned through most of the European Union after Apple won a lawsuit over similarities between the Galaxy Tab and the iPad tablets.